Many of us resort to cutting calories and challenging cardio workouts when we want to lose weight, but this could actually be slowing down our metabolism according to one fitness influencer. Luxembourg-based blogger Nessa, of the Instagram account @Nessasphere, has explained that women sometimes need to eat more in order to shed the pounds in a lengthy social media post.
"Food is your friend not your enemy," she wrote. "Most of us, when it comes to eating healthy, think about a bowl of salad with grilled chicken. But is it enough to reach your goals? Definitely not. Unknown to most people, one of the biggest reasons they don't get results they aim for, is simply NOT eating enough."
STORY: Marvin Humes' trainer reveals how to shape up for Christmas
© Photo: InstagramNessa said she saw more results when she started eating more
Nessa explained that when you're not eating enough, your body can go into starvation mode and your metabolism slows down. And it can cause long term physical and mental damage to your body. "This kind of plateau can push some people to eating less and at the end it leads to real problems you can't recover easily from. There are many physical actions your body takes when you're not eating enough calories but there are also mental ones," Nessa wrote. "Eating less usually means feeling frustrated, you're hungry, you lose your motivation and simply give up. Is it what you really want?"
MORE: Get healthy eating inspiration here
The 40-year-old, who has transformed her body through a healthy diet and regular exercise, said she first started to see results when she ate five or six well balanced meals a day, consuming around 2,000 to 2,200 calories. "I exercise at least 5 times a week usually before heading to work. I turned on my metabolism, I constantly progress, I look leaner although I gained weight, I am stronger and I feel great," she said.
An example of Nessa's daily diet
"My body knows it gets healthy food every 3 hours and do not need to conserve energy. Building muscle, weight loss or body recomposition is a patience game. It takes time and consistency to make it work." Nessa concluded: "Don't skip meals, make food your friend not your enemy and remember, eating more is the key to losing more and looking better."
See the latest health and fitness stories here.
